Reckless driving on the rise in the state

The head of Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation, Craig Thompson said at a recent meeting that reckless driving in the state has increased significantly over the last couple years.

Thompson says as Milwaukee works to fight reckless driving on city streets, the issue doesn’t stop when you leave the city.

Statistics shows speed is a major factor behind reckless driving with the Wisconsin State Patrol issuing citations for drivers doing 100 mph or more tripling since 2019 with 2,600 tickets being written in the combined years of 2021 and 2022. With the speed also comes an increase in traffic deaths with the number jumping from 550 in 2019 to over 600 in 2023.

Since 2019 Fond du Lac County has had 18 fatal crashes listed that had speed as a contributing factor.

Thompson says results have been seen so far this year with engineering changes, education, and enforcement, saying 65 traffic deaths have been reported this year compared to 94 at this time last year. Thompson also says Governor Evers has proposed adding more state troopers in his budget to increase enforcement.